Instead, after corrective surgery, Fletcher has made nine appearances since returning to the United team as a substitute at Aston Villa in December, and is back in Gordon Strachan’s squad to face Poland in Warsaw next month.

Fletcher -- who has won 61 caps and captains the national side -- last played for Scotland in a 2-1 win over Luxembourg in November 2012, but missed much of the period between March 2011 and December 2013 due to the career-threatening condition.

Strachan expressed his delight in being able to call up the midfielder once again as he looks to make his side competitive for the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign.

Gordon Strachan media conference "We're delighted to have a player of Darren Fletcher's quality back in our squad." pic.twitter.com/xPN6ZMQBnZ